Convention 2014 is history…but the memories will linger on.
I arrived early Wednesday afternoon, only to rush to the Salt Palace in order to rehearse my “In a Nutshell” presentation. It was thrilling to see my name and picture in the official Convention program.
Yep…there I am on the left-hand page in the lower right hand corner. I truly enjoyed presenting on Thursday, and received many wonderful compliments.
Old teachers never die. I hope those who attended walked away with useful tips to help them achieve balance in their lives.
Thursday was also great because I won the very first prize patrol of Convention…the Holiday Home set with the matching Homemade Holiday Framelits.
My floral sweater made me easy to spot in a crowd. Can you find me taking a selfie with one of my fellow Stampin’ Pretty Pals?
Here is how that selfie turned out:
Of course, I also wanted to have my picture taken with fellow Paper Player teammates LeAnne Pugliese and Nance Leedy…
and my partner in crime at Pals Paper Arts, Linda Callahan.
I presented twice on Thursday, so I was more than ready for a little fun at the organized classes that evening. I attended the Trends, Techniques and Tips class. I learned so much!
Day Two was filled with marches. Here I am marching across the stage for Sales.
Because of my wonderful downline and fabulous customers, 2014 was an excellent year for me.
Of course, the highlight of Day 2 is Awards Night. But before it started, I ate supper with fellow Pals at Caffe Molise. The food there is incredible, as you can see.
I was so proud to march across the stage with the other winners of the Achiever’s Bonus. We were all given beautiful wrist corsages made from fresh flowers. Although mine looks a little worse for wear, it was gorgeous when I first received it.
But there was another march to make. You cannot imagine how shocked I was to earn Founder’s Circle, where Stampin’ Up! recognizes it’s Top 100 demonstrators in the United States. As you can tell from my attire I was not dressed to be parading across the stage with my fabulous upline, Mary Fish, and her upline, Lisa Pretto. In fact, Mary came running back to get me when she heard my name announced, with Lisa close behind. We crossed the stage together.
This will forever be my most cherished memory of Convention.
On the final day, I was able to snap a few pictures of display boards. The Stamp Review Crew created a board featuring Lovely As a Tree. Can you spy which two cards are mine?
Just in case you could not tell, they are the Christmas tree, with pearls, and the sympathy card, with pearls.
My favorite part of Convention is reconnecting with old friends, and meeting new ones. I am always sad when it ends.
But I returned home to three happy dogs…and my son and husband were happy to see me, too. On the flight home I planned all of my fall classes, which I will be posting soon. In addition, I also planned my Holiday Catalog shares…the paper, ribbon, and embellishments are awesome! I will be putting the finishing touches on my next Lesson of the Month, featuring Choose Happiness. I can’t wait for you to see the cards I have designed.
As always, I would LOVE to be your demonstrator. And if YOU would like to join me at Convention next year, please email me and we will set up a time to talk. I would LOVE to discuss having you join me in the Schach Pack Pals. With the Holiday Catalog preorder just around the corner, couldn’t you benefit from all of the perks demonstrators receive? Until next time…
(A huge thank-you to my fellow Pals for taking such fabulous pictures, including the very talented Amanda, Kris, Beth, Mary and Lisa!) 
Congratulations for all of your awards and thank you for sharing all of your beautiful cards. Yay, Ann!
Congratulations to you!! Well deserved!!!
How happy I am for you!!! You are always so kind and helpful and I love your work. You are truly an inspiration to me and many others and deserve all the awards and recognition given to you. I just wish I had been present to see you! I enjoy following your blog as your cards are beautiful and your stories are so entertaining. Continued success!!! My daughter’s corporate office is moving to Salt Lake City so I’m hoping I can go to visit her and attend convention next year. I’m really excited about that possibility!
Diane Gil
Congratulations, Ann! I can certainly understand why you have achieved so much success. Your cards are beautiful, and your blog is so inviting. In addition to enjoying your creativity, I love reading about your 3 fur-babies.
Wishing you continued success! Thanks so much for sharing.
I just read this Ann. My goodness congratulations on all of your accomplishments with Stampin’UP! You look beautiful and certainly are no old teacher. 🙂
Mary
Ann, your achievements are a tremendous testiment to all your hard work and incredible talent. I have been following your blog since nearly day one, and it is no surprise to me as to this new honor of being in the Founder’s Circle. Big congrats and all the best!
Congratulations! Looks like you had a great time!
Congratulations on your awards. So well deserved and what a great honor.
How wonderfully exciting…big congratulations to you for the awards you so richly deserved!!! Enjoy the fame and excitement as long as you can! Pats to the pups!
Congrats Ann! Thanks for sharing your special moments with us.
YIPPEE, Ann. Congrats on all your awards and recognition. Great job. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.
YIPPEE, Ann. Congrats on all your awards and recognition. Great job. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.
FINALLY! Every one of your honors is so very deserved. I’ve been following your creativity and puppy stories over the years, and I always refer to your work when I want inspiration for fussy & vintage cards!! [It makes me giggle when you say you have trouble with CAS cards ; – >) Congratulations for having all your hard work recognized by Stampin’ Up! Now, break out the Holiday Catalog and enjoy!!
FINALLY! Every one of your honors is so very deserved. I’ve been following your creativity and puppy stories over the years, and I always refer to your work when I want inspiration for fussy & vintage cards!! [It makes me giggle when you say you have trouble with CAS cards ; – >) Congratulations for having all your hard work recognized by Stampin’ Up! Now, break out the Holiday Catalog and enjoy!!
WOW!!! Congrats on all the awards! They are well deserved. Thanks for the pictures. Especially love the black and white. Can’t wait to hear all that you learned from the classes you took. I’m sure you hubby and son were happy to see you but more so the puppies. They love their mom. Have a good week.
Congrats on all your achievements Ann! The black and white photo of you is gorgeous!
Congratulations Ann on all your accomplishments – especially Founder’s Circle!! Way to go….xoxo
When I met you in Grinnell at the classes we took, I had no idea what an inspiration you would be with your blog. You have such a talent and work so hard with SU. Very happy for the recognition you have received!!! CONGRATULATIONS!
a big congrats for all your success as a Stampin-Up demo Ann
Oh this was sooo nice to read, Ann! I loved your sharing the trip with us. CONGRATS on all those honors and awards!!!!!!!
Well it goes without saying you are a Rock Star in the world of Stampin Up. It is no surprise to me that you are so successful. You treat everyone with such kindness and make us all feel like we are friends, not just customers. Congratulations on a stellar year!
Congratulations Ann. What an honor you have achieved!
Wish I could have been there to see you get your awards and for the class you gave.
Time for relaxing! Enjoy your memories.
Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you!
All of your hard work has paid off! So proud to be part of Pretty Pals with you, Ann!
I could not be more thrilled for you Ann! You deserve all the recognition! And pictures with some of my favorite stampers…wow, I love seeing these! Congratulations to you!!
Congrats again on all of your wonderful achievements! I am a first hand witness at how hard you have worked……combine that with your amazing talent and voila! Enjoy it all……Founder’s should be fabulous!
I loved the statement above about comparing you to your precious dogs as “best of show”…how perfect! I’m always amazed at the work and love you must put into your cards, Ann…they and you are truly beautiful…your post today reflects your love for what you do!
Congratulations Ann! I enjoy your blog and all the beautiful cards you make to share with us.
Woo hoo! Congratulations, Ann! I have followed your blog for quite some time and so love your card style. You most certainly deserve these awards. So happy for you.
Well done, Ann! So happy for you, and you look just wonderful in all these photos! Cheering you on! Hugs!
Congratulations, Ann! It was an honor to meet you! You are such an inspiration to me! I admire your work and you are truly an amazing example of what Stampin’ Up! is all about! Best Wishes! Claire
Ahhhh so very very proud of you Ann – the Founders Circle. Truly an honor and one that you have worked so hard for. Your designs are always always over the top and you put so much thought and planning into each one. Just so happy for you. See our doggies are not the only ones to win “best of show.”
Congratulations!
Ann..
Congratulations on your awards! I always look forward to seeing your posts and the beautiful cards you create.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful talent. My friends and I look forward to your “shares”. It gives us the ability to see what we really like that is new from SU before purchasing.
Again, congratulations!
Linda
So very proud of you and for you, Ann. What a wonderful year you had–and what wonderful honors (that you worked hard for!). Your talent and your teaching ability come thru in everything you do. I hope your furbabies were excited when you got to tell them about YOU “walking the show floor” and winning YOUR “ribbons”!